Spare a thought out there for the folks in Queensland, about three weeks ago copped MASSIVE amounts of rainfall that flooded an area the size of Germany and France, causing about five billion dollars of damage. Now they are preparing for the largest Cyclone (Hurricane) to ever hit them. Category 5 with wind strength of 300km/hr - about 190mph with a diameter of around 2000km. The met guys say that if the eye passes over you it will take about two hours to cross.
Google cyclone yasi for a look.

Winds now estimated to reach 200mph with storm surge of 13-20ft.
As a guide, this cyclone would cover most of the U.S. and an area from Pennsylvania to Nevada and Georgia to Canada would be hit with 200mph winds and receive around 3 ft of rain.